Certain Type
by Jourdana Standish
Summary: Surreal realizes that some feelings just can't go away, but she doesn't expect them to be returned. Imagine her surprise to find out how wrong she is.


**Title:** Certain Type  
**Author:** Jourdana Standish  
**Fandom:** Black Jewels  
**Pairing:** Surreal/Rainier  
**Disclaimer:** Oh if ONLY I owned them.  
**Author's Notes:** This is slightly AU after Tangled Webs, mostly AU because of the... lack? of severity of Surreal and Rainier's injuries. Or the stubborness took a back seat to let them heal more than they did. It takes place a few months afterwards.

Surreal SaDiablo paced her bedroom. After returning to the town house in Amdarh to heal upon Jaenelle Angelline's insistence, she had become more and more aware of the Warlord Prince also living in the house.

Rainier was an Opal-Jeweled Warlord Prince from Dharo and was a wonderfully close friend. And one off-limits because he preferred a man's bed to a woman's. It never mattered to her before. She hadn't been looking for a lover when they became friends, and he made no demands to be one. It was a wonderful relationship to have.

But now... there was something that twisted in her since their time in the spooky house that left them both injured and primarily confined to the town house. Rainier more than she due to the injury of his leg. What had been maddening her was how little she saw of him and she felt as if she craved to see him now, but she couldn't explain that need.

_And why can't you just go see him?_ That internal voice that had been poking at her repeatedly of late asked. _You are friends and you live in the same house. His bedroom is right down the hall. Just. Go. See. Him!_

"Dammit, fine!" Surreal spun and stomped her way down the hall towards his room. If her subconscious had paid *any* attention, she would have realized it was the middle of the night and Rainier was probably asleep. Bursting into the room of a non-aware Warlord Prince was probably not the best of ideas.

He must've felt her coming, because instead of a dangerous predator meeting her for battle, she stormed into the room of a handsome, sleep rumpled male who was obviously wearing nothing beneath the sheet that only covered the parts of him that were blatantly male. Oh sweet Darkness. She knew he was handsome, knew that every inch of him was muscular and lean beneath the clothes, but it dawned on her that she'd never actually _seen_ Rainier without the clothes that separated skin from line of sight. _Mother Night. Mother Night._ She was suddenly having issues breathing.

"Surreal?" he questioned and dammit, his voice was even sleep rumpled. A soft, husky purr that was doing wicked things to her insides.

"I..." Think of something, damn you. "I..."

_Oh... oh Mother Night... why did you have to move?_ And he had. He shifted in the bed to a seated position and the sheet fell to his lap. She could see the muscular curve of a bare hip and the slightest hint of his ass, but otherwise his modesty was still covered. _Who gives a shit about modesty?_ The movement also bared a muscular chest that shifted beneath his skin with each movement.

"You...?" he questioned.

Surreal found her body moving forward before she even realized her brain commanded. After silent permission, she gingerly sat on the edge of the bed.

"I haven't seen you in a few days and wanted to make sure you were healing all right." It was probably the most ridiculous excuse she could muster, though not entirely dishonest. But Rainier knew better.

"It's the middle of the night," he pointed out. Something shifted in the air and she suddenly felt the need to go before she did something stupid.

"I... I should go. I'm sorry." Her voice was a whisper and she twisted her body to rise and go. She could already feel, and smell, her body's betrayal as want rushed through her, nipples tightening, her body responding to his being so close.

"Do you want me?" Rainier said in a gentle voice, watching her face.

Surreal shifted uncomfortably. Damn him for seeing too much, and damn him for having a seductive quality similar to Daemon. No one could ever have that same quality; Daemon was an entity unto himself, but perhaps Rainier had picked up on some of those qualities just from being in the other Warlord Prince's employ.

"It doesn't matter what I want," Surreal said. She shivered from the sudden coolness in the air. "I am not what you want..."

"I want a woman as much as I want a man," Rainier said, that chilling temper subsiding.

"But you prefer the latter," Surreal all but whispered.

"It's easier to guard your heart when you don't have the uncontrollable urge to possess," Rainier said just as softly.

Gold-green eyes flashed as she looked at the man. "Some bitch hurt you?" she said too softly.

Rainier's look said it all but he gently caught Surreal's slender wrist to stop her from rising.

"Who was she?" she said, a viciousness in the quiet way she spoke.

"No," Rainier said firmly. "You will not spill her blood. Not over me."

"Why not?" Surreal demanded. "Any bitch should feel damned honored to have a man like you!" Her snap of temper gave way to embarrassment as her cheeks flushed. It was too much. Things weren't supposed to be this way for them. The ease would be gone if she wanted too much. If he wanted too much.

"Because it's not her fault," Rainier said, breaking into her thoughts. "It's not her fault that her love was not with me, but another. And it was my fault to fall even a little in love with a woman I could not have."

Surreal felt her heart crack. Mother Night, please not let it be... "Jaenelle?"

The look on his face was too much and Surreal felt a small peal of laughter slip from her lips. "No?"

"No." But he did grin. All too soon, the grin was gone. "But a similar situation. A woman who had loved the one she loved for a long time. Almost a destined pull. She was an artist I knew. A lovely, wonderful artist. She understood how to be around a Warlord Prince and she never feared me."

"But she loved another," Surreal said softly.

"She loved another. And she remains a wonderful friend. Perhaps one day you will meet her, but not till you are ready to without wanting to rip her throat out." His voice was a gentle warning. This artist, she had hurt Rainier merely because she did not return his love, but he would die defending her. He'd probably do a good deal of damage to Surreal, but her jewels outranked his. And even if, Darkness help him, he was able to take her down, he would never survive Daemon or Lucivar or Chaosti. And something told her that he wouldn't even try to.

"It doesn't change your preference," Surreal said. Then cursed. There was too much want, too much ache and too much need in those five words. When had this happened? When had her shift in perception of the man before her changed? Oh he was handsome, there was no denying that. There was an infectious laughter sometimes twinkling in those gorgeous green eyes and even before this feelings had started to surface, she always had the unimaginable need to run her fingers through his brown hair just to see if it was as soft as it looked. Every man she had met she always measured their beauty next to Daemon, but something about Rainier made her pause. If the two stood side by side, just on pure physical looks, Sadi would win hands down. But there was a beauty within Rainier that Daemon lacked. Or rather that Daemon kept deeply buried and it only came out for Jaenelle.

Rainier was approachable. Oh you were wary of approaching a man of his caste. It was simply safer to be wary of a Warlord Prince, but the moment you looked into his eyes, you were lost. He was a man that you would happily partner in a court dance with and within the next beat of a new song, you would be laughing and breathless as he swept you around the room enthusiastically and gracefully, laughing as much as you were. In many ways, Rainier was what she always imagined Saetan was in his youth, before becoming a man so many feared.

She felt the bed shift and then his fingers were brushing along her neck and sliding gently into the loose hair. She immediately looked at him and barely managed to stifle the gasp that wanted to escape when she found his face scant inches from hers. She could feel his breath along her skin and it did insanely nice things to her insides.

"Surreal... my preference is not like other Warlord Princes because I simply prefer men," he said gentle, a seductive timbre to his voice. "Most Warlord Princes can be basically pacified by any female, even if it isn't *their* female. I'm different. I am drawn to men the way other Warlord Princes are drawn to any female, but my heart yearns and craves for a _certain type_ of woman. When I am around Jaenelle or any of the coven, that yearning is eased just by being near them. But there's a gut-wrenching ache that still plagues me and can not be eased. Because there was never the right woman that could ease it."

Surreal wanted to jerk away, cursing the unexpected tears that pricked her eyes. "I won't be used as rutting post," she growled. She never expected the soft brush of his mouth against hers and it silenced her immediately.

"The night I met you, I felt that uncontrollable pull," he said softly. "And that ache both eased and got worse at the same time. But you were heart sore and I would not be another scar there. You weren't looking for a lover or a romp under the covers. So I made the choice to be just a friend. And settled on being that and nothing more for the rest of my life."

"Wh... what?" Surreal stammered.

"You are that certain type, Surreal," he said, giving her the most gentle and promising smile. "Even more so than any woman I've ever met."

Needing to find even footing, Surreal arched a brow and smirked. "Are you telling me you want me, sugar?"

"Yes," Rainier said, his answer almost a laugh. "That's exactly what I am saying, _sugar_. That and more."

Surreal couldn't help the hope that surged in her chest, but something still held her back. Her fertile time was close and she was not drinking a contraceptive brew since she had not had a lover. "I've not..."

"I have," Rainier said, covering her mouth with his. A jolt of jealousy hit her square in the belly just as lust joined it when his tongue slipped past her lips to tangle with hers. She shifted and wrapped her arms around him, her fingers finding their way into his hair. Mother Night, it was as soft as it looked.

Rainier shifted on the bed, pulling her onto his lap. His hands wandering over her shoulders and the material of her nightgown. Nostrils flaring, he took in the scent of her arousal, inwardly smiling as it flowed over her psychic scent and her physical scent. It helped wash away any further doubts that she wanted this. Wanted him.

"Wait," she breathed out as his hands brushed the hem of her nightgown. Rainier's heart beat wildly in his chest thinking she'd changed her mind. "Why are you drinking a contraceptive brew? Have you..." She couldn't hide the nip of hurt she felt.

"I knew you hadn't," Rainier said. "And I had hoped that one day... I dared to hope. And if that day ever came, I didn't want us to stop simply because we aren't ready to walk that path yet."

There was something sobering and arousing about that statement. He wanted her. And he didn't just want her. Those words implicated that one day he wanted all of her, including a child with her. A family. A future. Dare either of them hope? He was taking great care to ensure that he did not seed her _*now*_, but it was obvious that he would want to in the future. When she wanted to. If she did. The way her heart thumped against her breastbone and the center of her thighs ached in anticipation, it would seem that it was what she wanted. But he was right. They weren't ready. Not yet.

"Then let's not stop."

Surreal's mouth found his and she kissed him with everything inside of her. It was hot and needy, yet soft and promising all at once. This wasn't like any of the encounters she had, even with Falonar. Even though she had offered her heart to the Eyrien, there was something _**more**_ here and now with just a kiss between herself and Rainier.

"Your leg," she whispered against his lips.

"Is fine," Rainier said. He grasped her hips and shifted her body a little more so she was straddling his thighs. The movement rode her nightgown up a little and his hands found their way beneath the material to gently tease the flesh of her hip and around to the small of her back.

"I don't want to hurt-," Surreal said.

"You won't." With that, he vanished her nightgown and his dark head lowered to her breast, pressing a kiss to the light-brown skin just above her nipple. As her fingers move into his hair and she pressed a kiss to his temple, a gasp softly escaped her lips when his wrapped around the taut peak.

She had felt his tongue on her skin once before, shortly after they met. Discussing the training of three young men and the advantages of demonstration, he had looked into her eyes, kissed her knuckle then licked the skin. A sweet and unexpected feeling had flowed through her then. Now it was much, much more.

It was a gentle seduction. His moves were very precise and she cursed any woman that ever hurt him and yet thanked every part of the Darkness for never showing him that certain type of woman that he needed so that she could find him herself. As she held his head to her breasts as he laved attention to first one, then the other, she used Craft to gently move the sheet covering his hard cock out of the way. With a sure shift of his hips, her head fell back as he filled her in one swift motion.

She was used to rutting. She was used to hard, deep and sweaty. She made her money as a whore and even with the fresh-faced boys that had a tumble with her, there was a fumbling rut to their movements. With Falonar, no money had been exchanged but it had never been _this_. Oh she had no doubts that Rainier had the ability in him to take her with as much fast passion as she had ever experienced, but this was different.

Rainier's hips moved and drove his cock deep, but it was such a slow precision in time with the way his tongue and teeth were working on her nipple that it was driving her insane. She had an uncontrollable need to _move_, but yet she didn't at the same time. Every nerve was singing softly in pleasure and with each twist of their hips against one another, the chorus only got louder. Soon it would be a symphony's crescendo that would crash over her.

"Rainier..." Her voice was a soft plea as her nails dug into his shoulders a little. Her mouth fell open as she moved, her thighs starting to get a sweet ache as she moved against him. Her mind was getting deliciously fuzzy from the pleasure, till he lifted his beautiful green eyes to her and suddenly her thoughts were so very clear. _I love you..._

She must have said the words aloud without realizing, because the corner of Rainier's lips quirked upward slightly. Her hands cupped his jaw and part of his neck, her head lowering to his till their foreheads touched. Staring into one another's eyes, Surreal could feel her orgasm building. It was like a tight coil in the pit of her belly that was growing tighter and tighter. She felt vulnerable, open, nothing hiding her feelings as she still managed to stare into Rainier's eyes. She wanted to close her eyes as her body started to reach the point where she would give over to the pleasure, but she couldn't.

As she saw the pleasure darkening his eyes and felt his cock swelling inside of her, Surreal never stopped staring into Rainier's eyes, not even as his name was a moaning gasp in her throat as her body found that sweet release of climax. Not when she felt him find his own release deep inside of her. Not when their hips continued to move slowly against one another, drawing that pleasure out to every last moment. Not when their hips stopped and their breath was coming heavy from their lungs as they tried to catch it. There was an intense intimacy to staring into a man's eyes, seeing every part of him in the depths as he did the same to her while their bodies were so deeply joined that they didn't know who was who.

Surreal didn't know when he moved or when she did, but she found herself neatly tucked against his side, pressing her to him, soothing a hand over her arm. She felt his lips against her hair, murmuring softly against her skin. It was a soft caress, one she barely heard, but felt wash over her. And it made her smile.

"I love you too."

For Surreal, she was very glad to be classified as a certain type.


End file.
